I Am RED
by WhenWindWhirls
Summary: During the battle against Mewtwo, on New Island, there was one more Clone created that no one knew existed and who was accidentally left behind after the final battle. So come on, let's join him on his adventure as he makes a new identity for himself.
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer - I'll say this here so I don't have to say it again and again, I DO NOT OWN POKEMON Or any of the cannon characters, but all the characters created by me belong to, well, me. So if anyone wants to use them be sure to ask for permission OR ELSE...

Timeline-Story starts near the end of the Mewtwo movie, which happened after the giant Gengar and Alakazam episode, I think.

Credit-The credit for the conception of this idea goes to Sakura Lisel.Who has graciously allowed me to use her idea and let my imagination run wild...

Summary-During the battle against Mewtwo, on New Island, there was one more Clone created that no one knew existed and who was accidentally left behind after the final battle. So come on, let's join him on his adventure as he makes a new identity for himself.

I AM RED

Prologue: Identity

By: WhenWindWhirls

Identity.

What is identity?

Identity is…a person's conception and expression about their own individuality or group relations…

Or so the dictionary says.

Identity is a very complex subject, made up of one's thoughts, memories, personality and idiosyncrasies.

But in a nutshell a person's identity is how he views himself, how he interacts with the world and how the world recognizes him.

But what do you do, when you have no identity, when your identity is no longer yours. Or it was never yours to begin with.

I

Such a simple word that has so much meaning to it. I've only found its significance now, that I no longer know who I am.

Who am I?

Am I the person my memories say I am or I'm just a copy of him?

Am I just an hour old, who has done nothing significant in life, other than existing, or am I a ten year old boy, who has travelled across the region, made friends, rivals and again memories.

No…

The bigger question is …

What am I?

My memories say I'm a human, a normal human with normal life.

But is that true anymore?

I was made by a machine and a Pokémon hell bent on destroying the world in his rage.

But I guess it doesn't matter anymore…the person I once was, is still there, living his life ignorant to what happened and its consequences.

Huh…ignorance is truly a bliss.

But I've set out on this world because even if the identity I was born with wasn't mine, I can still create one for myself… Right?

I AM RED

Chapter 1: Beginning

By: WhenWindWhirls

Deep inside of a secret laboratory on New Island a lone figure lay floating inside of a cylinder filled with glowing blue liquid.

The figure is revealed to be the sleeping form of a naked young boy, who looked to around 14 years old with short spiked white hair, and was curled up in a ball inside of the cylinder.

The machine connected to the cylinder made a 'bing' sound and slowly the boy, along with all the fluid filled within, was sucked into the tube on top of the cylinder. As the tube gently deposited the boy on the floor along with some of the blue fluid, the boy's eyes fluttered open, but closed again with a snap just as swiftly when a searing pain shot through his brain.

The boy curled into a ball as a gasp of pain escaped his lips. Unknown to the boy his closed eyes and the rest of his body glowed with a bark blue glow with bright pink outline. The surrounding machines and objects also gained the same blue-pink hue, as they were squeezed and crushed by the immense pressure applied on them. Even the ground around him cracked as crater was formed under him.

'Ash'

'My Ashy'

'Wow! Is that a Pokémon, professor?'

' Sorry Ash but all the starters have been given all I have is…'

' Smell Ya later Ashy-boy'

' I will be the best Pokémon trainer in the world'

'Pikachu!'

One after another a veritable flood of memories rushed through the now recognized, Ash's, head with the last being his struggle with the machine as he tried to stop it from cloning Pikachu but was dragged with him.

'What? What happened?'

'Ash' stood up, his feet shaking even now wondering what happened and looked around. His eyed landed on a window pane and his eyes widened when he saw the reflection on it.

'What? Why do I look…older? And my hair and eyes…what happened to me?'

Another glance revealed another astonishing discovery which overtook his mind immediately.

'And where are my freaking clothes!'

After some looking around, 'Ash' found a few rooms that looked like store room filled with clothes, food and other material that looked like scientific equipment to him. And the sight of food like always made him hungry.

A few minutes later, fully clothed, and fed, 'Ash' decided to investigate the Booming noises that were came from above and to find out where his friends were and how much time has it been since he entered that machine and was likely knocked out, it was made for Pokémon, not human use, after all.

As 'Ash' went up the stairs, where the battle ground was located, if he remembered correctly, he heard a loud yell of "STOP!" and the voice was suspiciously like his own.

Now breaking into a run, as soon as 'Ash' reached the opening in the floor and peeked up and froze with shock when he saw a boy, looking just like he did before he woke up, commanding his/their Pokémon along with Brock and Misty, who were standing with him.

'What's going on? Why does he look like me and why are Brock and Misty with him and why…'

'Ash', almost robotically went back down and sat on the chair by the machine he woke up by.

A storm of questions passed through his head as his mind tried to comprehend what happened and how all of it was possible. Dozens of reasons and logics went through his mind but were discarded just as quickly as his brain as his brain calculated and cross referenced it with all the know variables about the current situation. In his dazed state he didn't even question how he was able to do all this without much effort.

Unable to answer the questions and not liking the only logical answer he found, 'Ash' went up the ramp and peeked out again. The boy that looked like him was even now with his/their friends while both Psychic cats fought above them. Even Team Rocket was there, fighting against the clones with their Pokémon.

'So I wasright. Ifhe's up there and Pikachu and my other Pokémon are followinghim, thenI'm a clone too...' 'Ash' thought sadly to himself, as he starts to pull away from the opening, as he reached up to pull on his white hair to look at it for a moment, as a scowl appeared on his face for a moment, 'that explains the hair and eyes I guess. But if I'm supposed to be hisclone, why's the heck is my hair and eyes different than his?'

Unable to come in terms with all of it, 'Ash' went back into the lab and sat down, to think.

'I have to see what's going on up there, but I can't let the other me and the others see me. Seeing how Mewtwo hates humans,' 'Ash' thought silently to himself as he sat in the barely lit room, as more rumbles could be heard above as the lab shook from the force of the attacks from the battling Pokémon.

As his curiosity got the better of him and he started to creep back up to the opening above him, being careful to not draw attention to himself as he watched the battle from the safety of the hole, 'there's no telling what Mewtwo would do if he sees me and realizes what happened. I'll just have to be careful and not be seed by anyone.'

And so 'Ash' watched the ensuing battle between original Pokémon and clones from his hiding place in the underground cloning lab, just as Mewtwo and Mew started launching their own attacks at each other as the battle ensued.

As he watched the battle, he felt sadness fill him as he watched Pikachu refuse to fight his own clone, and winced in sympathy as the electric rodent let itself get beaten up by its clone until the clone became too tired to fight

anymore.

"All of you have to stop this before you get hurt!"

Hearing his own voice shouting out, he turned his gaze back towards the group of trainers only to see his own original rushing out into the battlefield, heading straight for Mewtwo and Mew and getting in between them just as

the two legendaries launched their attacks at each other.

The force of the blast from the combined attacks, sent everyone flying, and the ensuing light show caused 'Ash' to cover his eyes and duck back down to the lower floor as he heard Brock and Misty's scream out his name.

Once the light died down, 'Ash' uncovered his eyes and rubbed them for a moment as they came back into focus as he blinked a few times, as he noticed that the sounds of fighting had stopped above him, and he could hear the voices of Misty and Brock and the other trainers voices, as Misty's voice calling his name again reached his ears.

Taking a chance, he climbed back up and poked his head into the opening of the floor once more to see what was happening now, and looked in his direction of the other Ash, only for his eyes widen in shock and horror at the sight before him.

The original Ash still stood where he was when the attacks had hit him with a stunned look frozen on his face with a blank eyes staring sightlessly at nothing at all, with his body still in mid run before finally toppling over to lie lifelessly on his side and unmoving, but as everyone watched the young trainers' body slowly turned to stone.

'Ash' could see Pikachu rushing over to the other ones side, as it tried to revive their fallen trainer by shaking Ash's stone body with his paws and calling out to Ash, and even going so far to shock him back to normal repeatedly several times only to get no result, before Pikachu finally stopped after a few minutes and started crying, as Misty and Brock rushed forward and broke into tears as well when they saw there was nothing they could do.

'Poor Pikachu. I wish I could help him...' 'Ash' thought silently to himself, as he watched as Pikachu's attempts at waking up Ash failed, as 'Ash' felt a jealousy fill him, as well as sympathy for Pikachu's loss, as he felt his own tears come to his eyes, when he noticed something strange happening with the Pokémon.

As he glanced around, and saw that Mew and Mewtwo had stopped fighting each other when they realized what they had done, while the other Pokémon and their clones had stopped their own fighting to watch what was going on, and as 'Ash' watched, he could see all of the Pokémon, minus Mew and Mewtwo, were breaking out into tears over Ash's loss, and as the cried the Pokémon's tears seemed to give off a strange glow as they started floating away from the Pokémon and fly towards Ash's frozen body.

'What's going on? This almost reminds me of that story the tour guide at the harbor told us before we left,' 'Ash' thought silently to himself eyes widening in shock at the site, as he watched the growing amount of glowing tears seem to gather over Ash's body, and envelop him, seeming to sink into Ash's body as they disappeared from sight, just as Ash's body gave a strange glow, 'Is what happened in that story happening now for real?! If so, that means...'

As he watched in disbelief, 'Ash' could see the glow die down, as Ash's body become flesh and blood once more, as the other boy sat up in confusion about what was going on just as Pikachu pounced him and Misty and Brock ran over and gave him hugs as happy tears ran down their faces when they saw he was alive again.

'I guess that's good, that they have the original back. Mom won't have to be sad at losing him if he had stayed dead,' 'Ash' thought silently to himself, as he felt jealousy fill him again as he watched his 'friends' hug and comfort the other Ash, while Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokémon surrounded the group of humans while Mewtwo and Mew and the rest of the clone Pokémon all watched what was going on.

"He sacrificed himself to save the Pokémon," Mewtwo's psychic voice was saying, causing 'Ash' flinch a bit when he heard the psychic Pokémon's voice in his head, as he watched as Mewtwo used his powers to start lifting up all of the clone Pokémon from the ground.

As Mewtwo explained that he had seen that he was wrong about humans, and that he was going to take himself and the clones far away from the prying eyes of humans, and that he would erase the memories of everyone there so that they wouldn't remember what happened there and send them back home.

'What?! He's going to erase everyone's memories? What about me?' 'Ash' thought frantically, as he watched as Mewtwo and Mew flew off into the air with the rest of the clones, 'If he mind wipes everyone...'

It was all 'Ash' could think because just then, in a flash of light Mewtwo and the clone Pokémon's disappeared and took everyone's memories of that incident with them.

Mewtwo also teleported all of the trainers, their Pokémon and even nurse joy to the mainland. He left, thinking that the island was deserted and no one was there, and it would've been true if not for a certain white haired, red eyed clone.

In a now forgotten laboratory, deep within an island whose existence was known to none except a certain duo of Psychic cats, a figure lay prone on the ground.

As a ray of sunshine, coming through the higher windows of the lab, shined on the face of the, now revealed, white haired boy, a groaning noise filled the empty lab. The boy slowly opened his eyes, looking around in wonder as if seeing everything for the first time; he shakily got on his feet but lost his balance and fell on his knees.

The boy looked around from his kneeling position in amazement and seeing bright light shine from the opening in front of him and crawled to the ramp and then came to an open field which looked destroyed, as if a war was fought here, not that he could deduce any of this.

The boy, after thoroughly scrutinizing his surroundings, turned his attention inwards and it was with dawning horror that he realized that he knew nothing about…himself, anyone, anything.

His heart began to race, as he tried to find even a shred of memory in his blank and empty mind. He panicked as he found his mind was as empty as the island he currently inhabited, like a blank canvas, from which a lifetime worth of paintings had been erased.

He would have shouted for help, maybe curse the heavens for his predicament, but all that came out of his throat was an animalistic scream. He tried to form words, sentences but he knew no words, no language, he remembered nothing.

A wordless thought…

A soundless scream, was all he could let out in his state.

His head hurt, something was pounding from the inside of his chest, a rushing sound rang through his ears, his limbs were shaking and if he wasn't already kneeling he would have definitely fallen. He squeezed his head between his arms in a futile effort to drive out the pain, but to no avail.

His breathing was labored, and something was squeezing his torso as he tried to herd his thoughts in a meaningful direction, but the more he struggled, the more trapped he felt. His agony filled thoughts were now incomprehensible to even himself, as the phantom knot in his chest seemed to tighten…

No…

He couldn't bear it any longer….

It hurt…so much…

Maybe it will be easier if he let go, maybe the pain will vanish, and maybe he will find peace, maybe he should…

LET GO!

A thunderous roar filled his ears, as his migraine spiked, and something in his head gave in with a 'POP' as he was assailed with 10 years of memories, once again in less than 12 hours.

While 'Ash' was assimilating his now recovered memories, he was completely unaware of what was going on outside.

His body was ablaze with the same blue-pink Aura, only it was multiple times bigger. The field around him was cracked and the boulders crushed to fine dust, under his feet was a crater of at least 20 meters in diameter.

Boulders were raised out of the ground and smashed into pieces, crashing into each other or colliding with the walls. Many bricks stones, glass pieces and metal were orbiting around him as if he was the center of their gravity.

'No'

'NO'

If 'Ash' had thought that after getting back his memories everything would be all right he was sorely disappointed. After all he regained his memories, only to remember that he was just a 'copy' created by a machine and that too by mistake, no one even tried to create him, he was just a bloody, stupid mistake.

'Why? Why is this happening to me...'

'Am I just a copy of Ash Ketchum, do I have no identity of my own...'

'Of course I don't. Mom named only one boy Ash after all...'

'Oh God Mom'

Thinking about the ever cheerful woman and mother of Ash Ketchum, bought forth a new round of tears in 'Ash's' eyes.

'I can't go back, Mom' might accept me but it would be too awkward'

Ash' knew that Delia, the kind woman that she was, would gladly welcome him in her home with open arms, but he also knew that how difficult the situation could be if the secret of his origin came out.

Mewtwo erased everyone's memories for a reason after all

It was only now that 'Ash' opened his eyes and lay his gaze on the utter destruction around him.

The place was even more trashed than before and that was saying something, two legends did battle here after all.

The big boulders some crashed into the walls and some smashed into small pebbles. He even saw some fine soil, likely formed from crushed stones.

But what stunned 'Ash' most of all was the Blue-Pink Aura engulfing him and the objects orbiting around him.

'D-Di-Did I , Did I do al-all of this?'

A totally gobsmacked 'Ash' thought to himself.

'Bu- But how me, I, Ash has never done anything like this before' thought a amazed 'Ash', and it was true, never had he seen something like this.

'Thi-This is so...

Wait I've seen all this before, couldn't Sabrina do all this? and with her mind too...' 'Ash's thought rapidly.

'Maybe I'm like her, a Psychic...'

Looking at the Blue-Pink Aura around him 'Ash' could only conclude that yes, he was like Sabrina a Psychic.

It was during all this inspection that somehow 'Ash' lost focus on his powers and the Aura along with force keeping the objects afloat around him went off, leaving a tired and huffing 'Ash' in its wake.

But 'Ash' clearly remembered that her powers were visible only as pink hue around her.

'Why is mine different from her? Is it different for different people or is it something else.' 'Ash' wondered.

'Ash can't do this. So that means that I'm, I'm not the same as him, I'm different. I'm my own person. I'm a separate living being'

Untold amount of joy and euphoria filled 'Ash' as he finally accepted to having a distinct existence, different that the Ash of Pallet.

'Yes, he might be Ash of Pallet but I'll be a different, separate person of my own'

'I'll go on a journey of my own'As he thought this 'Ash' had a flashback of when his mother and other town's people came to wish him good luck on his journey, he remembered the bear hugs of his mother, hugs he was likely to never enjoy again.

'make new friends'An image of Brock, Misty, Bill, Sabrina and many others came to his mind.

'Find new partners' Pikachu, Bulbasaur and all of his beloved Pokémon went through his head.

'New rivals' A image of Gary with his cocky smirk.

'I'll be the best trainer in the world or my name isn't...' His eyes fell on a piece of glass beside him, looking directly into his Crimson eyes.

'RED, RED KASHER!'

His joy was cut short as his heightened state of emotions caused his powers to go out of control and cause a minor earthquake.

He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and thought, 'After I get my new powers under control. Beware world here I am.'

Hey, so this was the first chapter of my first fic 'I'm Red'. As you can imagine Red is a clone is Ash and will go to Hoenn now on his journey and adventure.

If you want Red to have any certain Pokémon do tell me and I'll se what I can do. Most of the team is selected and there are only a few slots left so, hurry up.

Ohh I almost forgot, I've adopted this story idea fromSakura Liseland have used one or two pages from his story too, I hope he/she doesn't mind(-_-)"

So stay tuned, and as this is my very first venture into the world of writing, plz do tell me if you spot any errors, I welcome all the criticism I get, but please do tell me to correct said error.

Well with all this said and done, until next time,

We'll meet again...

WhenWindWhirls.


	2. Power & Partner

**A/N: -** **This has been an entirely new experience for me, writing, publishing and getting genuine feedback, feels amazing. Even if the review or view count isn't as monstrously large as in other stories, I'm satisfied because I'm a relatively new and unknown member in this vast community.**

 **Chapter is not beta tested and edited so ignore any errors you see and report, please.**

 **So I'll like to thank everyone who has reviewed, or added my story to favorite list, I hope I can deliver to your expectations.**

 **Now I'll to address a few points I was asked…**

 **Red's name- Red obviously came from his eye color, but his surname 'Kasher' was a combination of 'k' of 'Ketchum' and 'Ash'. He chose Kasher as to always remember where he comes from and to remember the good qualities of Ash.**

 **Pikachu/Pika2- sorry for whoever all have asked for Pikachu to be in Reds team, that won't happen. The main reason is that the bond between Ash and Pikachu was very strong and it'll be painful for red to seemingly replace his old friend Pikachu. The other is that the Mouse is overused; I want something different for my story. Hope you understand.**

 **Aura teacher- I had hoped to give Red a Lucario after he participated in Hoenn league, but I've thought about it and decided to do it sooner. How soon, well just read the chapter.**

 **Psychic teacher- Red will catch psychic types, but it'll be later in the story. I think that there are more than enough psychic users in the poke-world that it'll be a well documented ability. So that's what'll help Red**

 **Disclaimer -** I'll say this here so I don't have to say it again and again, I DO NOT OWN POKEMON Or any of the cannon characters, but all the characters created by me belong to, well, me. So if anyone wants to use them be sure to ask for permission OR ELSE...

 **Summary-** During the battle against Mewtwo, on New Island, there was one more Clone created that no one knew existed and who was accidentally left behind after the final battle. So come on, let's join him on his adventure as he makes a new identity for himself.

* * *

 **I AM RED**

Chapter 2- Power & Partner

By: WhenWindWhirls

 _ **Last time on "DRAGON BAL-"!, sorry on "I AM RED"**_

 _'I'll be the best trainer in the world or my name isn't...' His eyes fell on a piece of glass beside him, looking directly into his Crimson eyes._

 _'RED, RED KASHER!'_

 _His joy was cut short as his heightened state of emotions caused his powers to go out of control and cause a minor earthquake._

 _He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and thought, 'After I get my new powers under control. Beware world here I am.'_

* * *

 **TIME - 6:10 PM, 17** **th** **January 2015**

 **PLACE – Underground Lab, Newfound Island**

In a dimly lit room, filled with the best computer equipment money could buy, was a White haired, Red-eyed, boy of fourteen, sitting in front of a screen reading the last chapters of an research he found on the internet, after hours of searching.

'… _are supernatural creatures, capable of feats that to us normal humans are no less awe-inspiring than the miracles of Almighty. It has long been debated as to what allows these monstrous creatures, now ironically called Pocket Monsters or Pokémon for short, to perform these incredible and almost impossible acts, with little to no exertion._

 _Many theories were proposed and as many discarded, but the truth continued to elude all of us._

 _But I believe that I and my team have, after years of research, observation and perseverance, finally found the answer to this mystery. We looked for answer for every nook and corner, before finally stumbling upon it, and much to the amusement of my team and I, the answers always amongst us bipeds._

 _But before I tell you this, let me tell you the fable that allowed us to uncover this mystery._

' _Millennia's ago, when man first started to venture out of his caves into the unknown world, he found himself with a companion or Pokémon as we now call them. Man didn't know where they came from, but most of these creatures were friendly, except a select few species, and capable of supernatural acts, so they lived together in peace._

 _This peace while long, like everything wasn't everlasting. The peace was destroyed because of the greediness and the hunger of power that began to plague humanity._

 _It started with small incidents but soon grew into a major phenomenon. Humans started to think themselves better that the Pokémon's, they thought it was their right to rule over and command the Pokémon's to do their bidding._

 _The organization, the root cause of all this, sought the powers of the legendary Pokémon's, believing themselves to be the rightful lords of the land. To capture the legends, other Pokémon's were used, forced to fight their kin, beaten into submission and discarded as broken tools when they outlived their usefulness._

 _The legendary Pokémon were enraged, and in their wrath swore to wipe out the entire human race. The organization was the first to perish and destroyed along with them was the whole region._

 _The rage of the legends was not quenched at that and they started to attack every human settlement, even the innocent as they had the potential to restart the bloodbath they had witnessed._

 _Seeing the horror around them, five young humans prayed to the God, Arceus, to save them, but Arceus had seen the cruelty of man so he denied their request._

 _So the war continued for years, humans and Pokémon dying by the hundreds, human didn't have powers but they did have their machines causing great harm to the Pokémon's._

 _When only a few thousand Pokémon and humans were left, the five humans, now battle hardened veterans prayed to Arceus again, pleading him to listen to their plea, even willing to give their life, their very soul for the sake of the world and its future._

 _This time, aware of the danger his creation was in, Arceus answered, and tried to placate his children, the legendary Pokémon. The legends though weren't very eager to let the bipeds go, so they were willing to let go only if humanity proved itself._

 _The challenge to the five leaders, was to fight and defeat five legends in combat, because the legends believed that two souls can only understand each other when their fists/claws clash in battle._

 _They fought and humans, unsurprisingly lost. Legends were forces of nature and humans even armed could not beat the Pokémon's without fatally injuring them, which they refused to do as they had seen enough bloodshed in the war._

 _The legends were stunned by this, that humans were capable of compassion. The humans should have fought tooth and nail to defeat them, but they did not, which astounded the legends. The legends finally saw that humans were diverse organisms' capable of greatest of good or the most heinous of crimes._

 _Arceus pleased with this outcome and because of the human's effort to stop the war and establish peace, blessed the leaders with the "essence of life", the lifeblood of everything, the Aura, and with the help of Aura, an order of Aura users that called themselves Aura guardians came to life and peace and prosperity returned to the regions…_

 _You might've guessed by now, my readers, but let me say it, yes it is Aura, this "essence of life" that makes Pokémon's such marvelous species.'_

 _It is Aura, it's always been Aura, and now that me and my team have finally found this Energy, we are one step closer to fully unravel its mysteries so that we understand this world and its denizens more carefully and learn to live in serenity with them._

 _With my research about powers of Pokémon done, I turned my attention to an equally intriguing matter. The issue of humans possessing supernatural power likes Psychics and Aura guardians._

 _Psychic, as we already know is also a type of Pokémon, one among 18 others. A type mostly based on mental strength and fortitude. It is the spiritual power of the Pokémon that determines superiority among these creatures. Training a psychic type is said to be almost as difficult as training the volatile Dragons Or the elusive Ghosts, but the rewards of doing so, often make up for all the effort put into it._

 _But there exists a 'common link' between us Humans and Pokémon, those being Human Psychics, and luckily for us Psychics are abundant enough that their abilities are well known, and documented. Do note that the abilities displayed by the Psychics while well known aren't that well understood._

 _The most basic abilities which have manifested in all the Psychics are the powers of_ _ **Telekinesis**_ _and_ _ **Telepathy**_ _, though the magnitude and effectiveness of these depends on the user's aptitude. Many other abilities have also been observed in certain Psychics like,_

 _ **Clairvoyance,**_ _Perception outside the known Human senses,_

 _ **Mirage,**_ _the ability to make illusions,_

 _ **Precognition,**_ _knowledge of events before they happen_ _ **,**_ _some even say that its ability to see the future._

 _ **Astral Projection,**_ _the astral body or soul, being separate from main body and having an out-of-body experience._

 _And most coveted ability of all…_

 _ **Teleportation,**_ _ability to teleport like a Psychic Pokémon_ _ **.**_

 _These are some of the most known Psychic abilities, there are assuredly more out there but for my data, this much are enough._

 _With my Data on Psychics completed, I began to search the next band of energy users amongst us humans, but to my surprise, all I found was rumors and urban legends, no concrete fact. Earlier I had decided that I won't trouble the league until my thesis was complete but I had to contact my friend, Charles Goodshow, and ask for his help to overcome this obstacle._

 _When Charles finally answered me, he, after having me swear on my beloved Lara's Grave for secrecy, disclosed to me the secrets of Aura Guardians. Once a thriving and enormous sect of Aura users, but under the ravages of time even they were brought on their knees._

 _Once they were more than a hundred thousand, but now you can count the number of Aura Users left in your hands and still have a few fingers left._

 _The location and other details about the Aura Guardians is something I've sworn to never mention to another soul, but it pains my heart to say this that the age of Human Aura Users may very well be gone._

 _Not much is known about Aura, and even less so about Aura guardians. What I have certainly found and can tell without breaking my vow is that at the start of their training to master Aura they were given a Pokémon partner, a companion that was with them, together, through thick or thin through cold or warmth. I can only speculate as to why this was done, but never could find a conclusive solution._

 _The only inkling as to what abilities these almost mythical beings may have possessed is found in legends and stories of old. The ability to use_ _ **any Pokémon move**_ _known to man, or the ability to_ _ **project Aura out of their body and make tangible constructs**_ _, the ability to_ _ **detect Aura in everything around them**_ _, almost like a sixth, but million times better, sense,_ _ **to communicate with their minds,**_ _the ability and guts_ _ **to calm even a rampaging Gyarados.**_

 _Speculations, theories, myth and legends, these are the only proof left of a once mighty order. It was my dream to uncover the secrets of Pokémon's powers but now, my dream is to witness the miracle that is Aura, at least once before I finally depart from this world and meet my beloved Lara._

… _.._ _ **From the last chapter- Mysteries Of Man**_ _By Harvard Neil._

…closing the page, and the e-book with a click, Red rubbed the bridge between his eyes and, looking at the setting sun, let out a tired sigh. He had been sitting in front of the screen for the last five hours and even with his enhanced physiology, his eyes hurt like hell.

Even in this book there was no mention of someone having both Psychic and Aura. He had been plagued with this thought ever since he discovered that he had both powers a month ago and after all this search he still had no reason or logic to explain this. His enhanced body and brain were getting sick of it now.

Yes, enhanced, you see, it had been a month since he had been left alone in the island where he had decided, after seeing that there was plenty of food and water stored, possibly for the experiments and scientists, to learn more about his abilities and get them under control.

* * *

 **Arceus' Blast of Past (Flashback, for common folks)**

* * *

After having a good night's sleep and a satisfying breakfast of bread and omelet, which were plentiful in the store along with other food materials and water, Red decided to check out the cloning machine and find out everything about it.

' _That machine is, in a way, my creator after all'_ Red couldn't help but sweat drop at that thought.

Ignoring his own musings, Red walked over to the machine and scrutinized it. The machine was connected to several tubes, half of which were still filled with the fluid, the machine itself had a covered chamber into which the organism to be cloned was kept, and it was into those tubes that the clone came into, or at least that was how he thought it ought to be.

Red saw an computer hooked to the machine and went to it, switching it on, he was amused that the files had no security what so ever, _maybe they thought no one will catch them here,_ he thought. Opening the main folder and reading the features and functions of the Machine he almost blacked out.

' _ **Super Enhanced Pokémon Cloning machine**_ '

The stupid Machine didn't just create clones of the originals; it even altered and slightly changed the clones in a Genetic level, whatever that meant. It also said something about _'Expressing the beneficial but dormant traits from dormant genes'_ , and _'Inhibiting the expression of unneeded traits'_. It the last Para the conclusion was written as that…

" … _while the subject maybe genetically different from the host, thus bearing slightly different physical attributes than the original, the genetic diversions created due to the expression of new and improved sequence of DNA will make the subject stronger, faster and more durable. The neurotransmitter enhancer will make the Central and Peripheral Nervous system's capacity to response to stimulus easier and the speed of impulse travel in all neurons will also increase by the factor of 10. It should also hypothetically give the neural cells the ability to regenerate, which is lost due to their specialization._

 _The Cardiac Muscle Imitator (CMI) should also make all the Muscle fibers in the subject's body capable of working for long periods with increased velocity. It should also increase the Actin-Myosin bridges in the muscles granting the subject improved Strength… "_

Red didn't understand most of what was written in the report as he only studied basic level of Biology. This was waaayyy too high for him. This made him feel incompetent, which he didn't like at all, and unknown to him his newly awakened psychic powers also needed some exertion so Red decided that he might as well increase his knowledge about these subjects, it couldn't be that hard, could it?

But first he needed to voluntarily call upon his Psychic powers so that he could start to control it. He had seen a lot of Sci-Fi movies in which the Master had his Apprentice meditate to connect with his inner 'Force', and try to recall how they felt, emotionally when they first used their powers.

" _Why not? Its not like I have any other idea, so might as well."_

It took Red three days to even sit still for more than an hour and be comfortable with the blackness that filled his mind every time he tried it, and another week to make any significant progress in the practical aspect of his training. His studies though were going steadily and, to his surprise, were enjoyable too. The internet and the database of the scientist that were working on the island was a boon to his newly, Psychic Enhanced mind.

He might not be on any of the scientist level yet but he now at least knew all the information a trainer needed to have and then some. It fascinated him, that there was so much about the fantastic creature that he loved to know, that he didn't know before. Finding that there were 18 different types had been a great discovery for him. He had known a little bit about the more abundant types in Kanto, but Dark, Steel, and especially Fairy types were what amazed him.

Dark, a type completely immune to Psychic types, Man, it would have helped immensely in Sabrina's gym in he knew this. Fairy, a type that was superior to the mighty Dragons, the Dragons attacks having no affect on them.

And that was just the start, Pokémon Abilities something that could change the tide of any battle, items that could have a variety of effects on different Pokémon.

Most surprising was the long list of Pokémon discovered in other regions, regions he didn't even know anything about any other region besides Johto. He was filled with so much alacrity when he found out all the Pokémon that he read nonstop about them till he knew at least the basic info about the 700 or so Pokémon registered at that time.

He also, in an attempt to relieve boredom and stress because of his failed tries at bringing out his Aura that he even read about the contests and various foods, specially made to promote growth of a specific type.

Trying to muster his Aura, it was on his 106th attempt, trying to emulate his emotional turmoil of _that_ day that something happened.

For the past 20 or so times he had been imagining different things in his head to kick start his powers and right now he chose _"a big Dam filled the brim with Blue-Pink energy, his powers. With a mental command he tried to open the floodgates just a little bit, but as soon as he let the metamorphic reins give just a little the floodgates were blasted open and the energy rushed out with a roar._

Outside in the beach, where he was meditating, his Aura flared to life and started to run rampant, making waves back off and bending the palm trees under the pressure of his Aura _._ Red opened his eyes and seeing the effect his immense Aura was having tried to close the imaginary gates closed but his Aura resisted, not wanting to be locked in. Red tried his best to beat, force and push his Aura in, make his Aura submit, but the harder he pushed the harder his Aura got out of control and struggled.

Unbidden the motto of Aura Guardians, from one of the few remaining and remembered relics of their era, flashed through his mind.

 _"The Aura is with me!"_

The motto conveyed much more than the words that constituted it. The ideology that Aura is sentient, that it'll help those that ask for it. That Aura will guide the Guardians even if their senses fail them, that the Aura is always everywhere. It meant that when one asks for Help, asks not demand but asks, the Aura to be their guide, trust it to be their partner. Partner, not Servant or master but partner at all times.

' _Maybe…maybe there's something more to the motto than it just being a way of thinking, maybe…'_ and with that thought Red stopped tried to force his Aura into submission.

He mentally pictured himself standing on the Dam holding his Aura back, and started to shout, in his head

" _Hey! Aura, are you listening to me?_ "

He got no response what so ever, the Blur-Pink 'water' kept on gushing out of the Dam and wrecking untold amount of destruction on the beach outside.

" _Listen, I'm sorry alright. I'm sorry I tried to force you_ " Red didn't know how but he got the impression that the Aura was startled, and the Aura let off a tiny bit and now it wasn't leaking as fast as earlier. It wasn't by much or anything substantial but it was progress nonetheless.

" _Hey_! _, I know it was foolish of me to try to make you submit…but it's just that so much has happened in my life recently that I'm really don't know what I'm supposed to feel. It's…_ " and he started to narrate his entire…life story till that point of time to the mythical energy inside of him, which interestingly seemed to be listening like a child listening a bedtime story.

Red may have been weirded out by all this a little bit, but he didn't know about the good it was doing to his psyche to get it all out of his chest. Even if the one he told was a metaphysical energy.

So he ranted and raved and screamed about it all, about the unfairness of it all, about him being left out, even about the lack of diversity in food, and everything that came to his mind and mouth. But as he was just about to complain about being alone and having no one…His Aura reacted to its wielders emotions and wrapped Red in a warm embrace, which for some reason felt like his mothers hugs, minus the strength of bear crushing him, that is.

* * *

( **Back To Present** )

* * *

Red didn't know how it happened and neither did he care to find, but the next day he was pleasantly surprised to find that calling his Powers was easy as breathing.

Calling Aura/Psychic was one thing, but when he started to try and use them, 3 weeks ago, he ran into new problem. At first he tried to separate his Aura and Psychic power, but when it proved futile, he just decided to leave it and come back to it at a later date.

Because the abilities of Aura were shrouded in mystery and he had no one to teach him, he had no choice but to leave his Aura powers as they were as he had enough information about Psychic Powers to start with.

It was this endeavor that was the most rewarding in all aspects of his 'training' on the island. Because every Psychic shared the abilities of Telepathy and Telekinesis, and there was no one else on the island whose mind he could read, he started with Telekinesis and man, was he proud of what he had accomplished.

At first it gave him problems because he, instead of using a teaspoon full of energy, to give an analogy, used an equivalent of a bucketful.

The chairs he tried to levitate were crushed under the pressure he unintentionally applied on them. He was literally overpowering his hold that reduced even boulders into dust. It really made him curious, as to what would have happened if he applied as much power he could muster into something and shuddered when he remembered the destruction of the Battleground that he had unleashed earlier.

But gradually his control increased, he started with giant 20 feet tall boulders he 'dug' out of the ground and from there worked his way down till he could easily levitate a potato chip without breaking it. This continuous 18 hour a day use of his powers also had the unintended side effect of increasing the size of his reserves, which had grown by around 20 percent.

But his success was something else entirely…he had always envied the birds 'cause they had the freedom of soaring into the skies at bullet speeds, flying this way and that without any restriction. It was the reason he dreamed of Pidgeot evolving and them flying together, and when he had witnessed Sabrina floating in Saffron City his jealousy knew no bounds.

So when he found out about being a Psychic, his dream was for once in his grasp. It was for that reason that he had worked endlessly on his Telekinetic ability, fine tuned it, and mastered it to perfection.

These last few days had been great. He would just jump and go for a flight whenever the muse hit him, and it also proved to be a great stress reliever, just loosing himself in the air currents and letting himself just float in the clouds. It had been a bit shaky at first and he hovered at around hundred feet on his first attempt, his speed wasn't that great either. But like all things, practice had made it perfect.

* * *

 **TIME - 6:02 PM, 20** **th** **February 2015.**

 **PLACE – Skies above Newfound Island.**

Eyes closed and hairs swaying in the evening breeze, Red wore a small but content smile on his face as he gazed on the beautiful sight of the setting sun.

He was floating hundreds of meters above the ocean around his Island, on one of his evening 'stress-buster' flights.

It had become a routine of his, getting up around 8 in morning, finishing his morning rituals, breakfast and then settle down for a nice meditation on the beach. He practiced his telekinesis if the fancy hit him, but having almost mastered that art, there wasn't much for him to do in terms of technique, only the power could be increased and he mused that it'll happen automatically with time as he grew older.

Then he'd go back arrange for lunch and after that pick up any new topic to read on, his newly realized Psychic potential demanded stimulus of intellectual kind so he had to indulge it.

His Aura/Psychic power though was still behaving…odd to say the least.

He had not tried to force his Aura nor demand anything of it, the incident having thought him to treat his energy as he himself wanted to be treated. With respect, like a person and with compassion, it had certainly benefited him too.

Ever since _that_ incident he was able to, at times, sense the area around him, it was as if for some time his blindfolds were removed only to be tied again. It was random, it was annoying, but it was proving to be very helpful too. This new Aura senses allowed him to sense any and all the Pokémon that were there on the island, most of them being flying types and water types around beach. And now with much trial and error he could use his Aura sense around 60% of times, not the best odds, but beggars can't be choosers.

 **BOOOOM!**

It was a loud explosion that bought red out of his musings and turned his attention towards the group of island he was flying nearby, particularly the Crescent shaped Island with two mountains in the centre, from where the noise originated. Red could see a plume of dust and smoke rise from the other side of the mountains effectively giving him a visual to associate the audio with.

He swiftly flew over the mountain and was presented with a sight he was in no shape or form expecting.

It seemed as if two Pokémon mates were fighting against the third Pokémon over the ownership of the cave that the defender was probably living in now. The place they were fighting was a clearing about fifty feet in diameter with a cave opening in the mountain, a perfect place for shelter from any weather. The clearing was slanted slightly towards the cave, giving the indwellers a perfect view of any intruders.

The defender was a Quadruped, mammalian Pokémon with a dark blue to gray body covered in white fur. It had a ruff around its neck and chest and a tuft on the top of its head adorned with a single blue-black oval. It had a feline face with almond-shaped, red eyes, a scythe-like tail, and a sickle-shaped horn on the side of its head. Its broad feet were equipped with three claws each. And spiked protruded from the heels of its hind legs and the elbows of its front legs.

An Absol, Red mind supplied the name and soon some general info he had read began to tickle into his mind.

' _Hmm. Dark type, physically superior, native to Hoenn Mountains and thought to be the precursor of some disaster. All in all a great Pokémon, what's it doing here though? It's quite rare in Hoenn and rarely seen…maybe he lived in these mountains to begin with? Interesting… '_

The attackers proved to be no less interesting to Red as he watched the male continued to spit a large globe of purple venom at the Absol, who answered with a well aimed beam of Dark violet ringed beam that Red recognized as **Dark Pulse** , that pulverized the **Sludge Bomb** and continued on its path hitting the female with a bang and pushing her few feet back.

The male was a large, bipedal, purple Pokémon with distinct reptilian features. It had small, narrow eyes, large, spiny ears, fur-like tufts on its cheeks, and a short snout filled with pointed teeth. There was a long, venomous horn on its forehead. It had a gray chest and belly plates, three claws on each hand, rounded spines on its elbows, and a single large nail on each foot. There was a ridge of long spines down its back, and it had a long, powerful tail.

A Nidoking, poison type, physical powerhouse, an aggressive and violent species in wild, very territorial and possessive, especially in the mating season, which unfortunately was going on.

And with him was Nidoqueen, the female of the same species.

Nidoqueen was a large, bipedal blue Pokémon with distinct reptilian features. Its lower jaw, chest plates and lower torso are cream-colored. It had a horn on its forehead, narrow black eyes, and large, spiny ears. There were toxic spikes running down the length of its back, and its body was encased in extremely hard scales that served as excellent protection from any attack and stood up when Nidoqueen got excited or provoked. It also had a thick, powerful tail.

Even if the chilly winter season was on its last legs, maybe for a few weeks, the nights were still frosty and living in open would be hard. That must've been the reason for this battle, after all, in wild most of the battles were for food, mates and shelter.

While Red was busy trying to identify the Pokémon's and rummaged through his brain for any info on them, the Monsters were not still either.

Nidoking, enraged, that Absol hurt his mate, charged towards Absol, with his tail turning metallic steel of **Iron Tail**. Absol, aware of the danger the much larger Pokémon presented in close quarters, tried to make distance. With a howl Absol released an orb of blue spiraling water, **Water Pulse** , at the charging Poison type male.

Red watched on from his spot in the sky, conflicted as to interfere or not, as the Nidoking spun on his foot and swung his tail at the orb of water, reflecting it back at its owner, all the while continuing with his charge, only now its left claw glowing white as it was brought over his head. Absol, who hastily jumped aside to dodge the **Water Pulse** , didn't have time to even widen his eyes in shock as Nidoking brought his arm down, hitting the Absol with a devastating **Brick Break**. But Absol, to Red's shock, only let out a Grunt of pain before smashing his left arm, which had an eerie purple hue around it, on the Nidoking's gut.

Red's jaw dropped in shock when the much bigger, heavier and bulkier Nidoking was thrown of his feet and landed a solid twenty feet away.

' _Wh-What the Hell! How can that single_ _ **Night Slash**_ _have that much power? Power to throw Nidoking away like that, it's as if he didn't weigh a pound. It can only mean that the Absol is of very high level._ ' Red's incredulous thoughts to an end when he saw Absol cautiously looking around, as if searching for someone and take a sniff to smell the air, and abruptly jump to his right to avoid the Nidoqueen that came barreling out of the ground, exactly where Absol was standing. And without wasting a single second Absol hit her with another **Dark Pulse,** sending her hurtling towards her male counterpart, who was still lying at the foot of the hill, some way below the cave the Pokémon's were fighting over.

' _How did Absol sense that Nidoqueen was underground? There wasn't even a tremor to give away her presence._ ' Red thought curiously and went over all the information he remembered about the so called Disaster Pokémon.

' _That's it! Absol has enhanced senses that can sense sounds and vibrations. He probably felt Nidoqueen when she was using_ _ **Dig**_ '.

Though not well known, these acute senses were the reason that Absol could sense imminent Natural disasters. But when Absol appeared before the people and tried to warn them about the coming disaster, they came to believe that it was Absol _creating_ the disasters.

' _Huh, talk about misunderstanding_ ' Red thought wryly.

By now the male and female Drill Pokémon had got back on their feet and let out a loud roar, with only the slight tremble of Nidoqueen's feet and the blue-black bruise on Nidoking's chest plate betraying their show of perfect health and confidence.

Absol walked over to the ledge just before the entrance of the cave and answered with a terrifying growl, and uncaring of the distance between them, after taking a deep breath spewed out an intense blast of red hot flames, shaped like a star towards the poison duo.

' _I-I He can use_ _ **Fire Blast**_ _too_ ' Red wondered in amazement, but it was short lived when he saw the duo of Drill Pokémon use **Stone Edge** , to form a protective barrier around them. It was a testament to the strength of the _**Fire Blast,**_ that half the stones were turned into nothing but molten slag and the very heat of the attack singed the ground types and gave them burns. The other half of **Stone Edge,** which hadn't turned to slag, then rushed towards Absol, intent on scoring a hit.

For a moment Red was sure that Absol would dodge, he even saw him slightly flexing his limbs, and retaliate, but to his shock Absol didn't even move an inch and took all the hits on his body. Absol grunted in pain but didn't budge, leaving Red wondering as to why he didn't move. It seemed that the poison duo was shocked too and for a moment there was a lull in the battle. Unnoticed and undetected by both the poison types, Absol was bathed in his Psychic energy, (visible only to other psychic sensitive organisms that being only Red at the moment), which he then _pushed_ as a cloud of invisible Psychic energy above their heads, only that the psychic energy didn't dissipate as expected but grew stronger by each passing second. The psychic cloud hung over the two Poison types, ready to pass its judgment on them, just like a **Future Sight.**

But it was surprisingly Absol who attacked first as he sprinted down the incline at speeds that would make an Jolteon jealous, his body ablaze with bright white light of **Double Edge**. Neither Nidoking nor Nidoqueen had a chance to dodge due to the sheer swiftness of the attack and were sent crashing into the trees.

The Nidoking stood up, shakily and letting out an enraged roar charged at the Absol with both arms turning white due to **Mega Punch,** Nidoking swung his arms at Absol repeatedly but Absol kept on ducking and weaving through his attacks, going through the stances of different dance moves, his body a glow with the power of **Swords Dance** , all the while leading him away from the cave.

Nidoqueen realized that too, so to test the waters so to speak, fired a aquamarine colored orb, **Focus Blast,** at the cave.

Absol, while fighting Nidoking had led him a few meters away, barely saw the attack heading towards his cave and immediately, bashed his, translucent bluish energy covered, **Zen Headbutt,** head in the male poison types torso, sending him stumbling back. Without wasting a second, and yet again displaying his immense speed Absol vanished from his spot and reappeared before the cave mouth, the sickle on his head covered in the pinkish hue denoting the move as **Psycho Cut,** and slashed the aquamarine orb in two, causing it to explode in his face, due to the hasty execution of a fantastic tactic, giving him light injuries.

' _Why is he so adamant about not letting any harm come to that cave?_ ' Red thought questioningly. ' _I understand the desire to protect ones home, but this…something's off about this_ ' Red said to himself. It seemed that the Male and Female Poison type duo had come to the same realization and were intent on taking full advantage of this and started to charge their strongest attacks, **Hyper Beam** and **Earth Power** , respectively.

Just as the duo of Drill Pokémon's unleashed their attacks, the Psychic cloud, which had until then done nothing but grown stronger in intensity, abruptly engulfed the two Pokémon, freezing them on the spot and then unleashing untold horrors onto them, releasing all the stored and collected Psychic energy in an explosive manner.

But the damage was already done, to counter the **Hyper Beam** and **Earth Power** cruising towards him, Absol released an orange colored **Hyper Beam** of his own, the two **HyperBeams** collidedin a stalemate, but it was the **Earth Power,** that went under them, that Absol endured as he for some reason didn't want any harm to come to his cave. The two **HyperBeams** exploded raising a cloud of dust and gravel, covering Red's view of the battleground.

Red was still in awe of the display of power he witnessed, the tremendous speed with which Absol moved, as if teleporting to the other location, the physical power enough to blow the large Nidoking away. The smart tactic used by Absol by using **Future Sight** , proved crucial in the end.

When the dust finally settled, Red was greeted to the sight of the duo of poison type Drill Pokémon's lying on the ground, their body laced with various degrees of wounds and bruises. Nidoking and Nidoqueen were lying in a heap, clearly unconscious and defeated.

Absol advance towards the downed form of the poison types, probably trying to ensure that they were defeated at last. But before he even took two steps towards them, the bushes outlining the clearing rustled and a pair of Nidoran(M) and Nidoran(F) ran up to the downed Drill Pokémon and while Nidoran(M) began to lick his , most likely, parents, Nidoran(F) stood before them defensively and began to growl at Absol.

Considering the fact that both the Nidoran were quite small for the average member of their species, belaying the fact that they were baby Pokémon and must be only a few weeks old, the spectacle proved to be more cute than threatening.

"Ni, Ni Nido..." the Nidoran yipped adorably, I mean dangerously.

Absol must've found the sight to be cute as well as he released a snort with his head tilted sideways.

Nidoqueen and Nidoking rose, slowly but steadily, beckoned the Nidoran(F) to them and giving the dark type a last glare, went back into the bushes, on their way to find another shelter, this one, hopefully, without a guardian.

As soon as Absol sensed that the poison type family was gone and not returning back, his back legs finally gave up and he fell on his abdomen. From his spot above, Red could see the damage done to Absol's back legs; they were cut, bruised and burned from the last **Earth Power** attack.

Even in his state of injury though, Absol forced himself to stand and began to wobble towards the cave, but could only transverse a few steps before falling down, only to rise again, walk a few steps, fall and rise again. It was a heart wrenching sight of a Pokémon dragging himself towards his cave as if his life depended on it, until finally he could not keep the darkness of unconsciousness at bay, but the last images he saw were one that he wouldn't for rest of his existence. A human boy flew down beside him, his body glowing Blur-Pink in the dimming light of dusk. It was as if Arceus himself had sent a savior for him, an Angel.

Red couldn't take anymore of this and without thinking, swooped down besides Absol, it was a testament as to how exhausted the Disaster Pokémon was that he didn't even sense Red landing beside him. Red noted that the Pokémon had finally succumbed to his injuries and his eyes rolled up, as he fainted. Looking at the knocked out form of Absol and the cave ahead of him, Red could only think of one thing,

' _So much for this being a stress reliever. I'll have to camp out here in the cave with Absol, huh looks like you have a new roommate…_ ' as he lifted the Pokémon in his arms, after reinforcing his limbs and headed to the cave.

' _Stuff's about to get interesting…_ '

* * *

 **TIME - 12:22 PM, 26** **th** **March 2015.**

 **PLACE – Hoenn Ring ship, Sailing Away From New Island.**

As the New Island grew smaller and smaller in the horizon, Red couldn't help but think that he was going to miss the island. It was, in a way his birth place after all.

Our protagonist was adorning a black undershirt with two red stripes, loose dark grey jeans with black stripes and a dark blue jacket with white colored sleeves which were rolled up to his elbow and red fingerless gloves. His attire was completed by green bandana on his head with a white Pokeball design on it and his green bag filled with his supplies. It was an outfit he bought a week ago from an inhabited island nearby, after he had decided he was done and ready to face the world.

"Sol Abb Absol…" Absol bumped his snout to his friend, Red's hand, shaking the Aura user out of his thoughts. Red looked down at his new friend and partner, gave a soft smile and couldn't help but reminisce about how they got till this point.

It had been a month since he had found Absol on the nearby island and nursed him back to health. To say Absol was not happy to find a human living in the same cave that he so desperately tried to protect would've been an understatement, he was pissed and immediately attacked Red. Red had thought that he could easily subdue Absol with his Telekinesis but to his surprise and horror, he just couldn't catch the Dark type in his Telekinetic Psychic hold. It was only then that he remembered that Absol being a Dark type was completely immune to Psychic energy so that left Red, unfortunately, vulnerable to Absol's assault.

His Aura, though, once again proved to be a life saver and somehow he, in his desperation, not only erected an Aura barrier, shielding him, but also gained the ability to communicate with Aura nonverbally (later he theorized that this Telepathy must use his Aura energy because if it used Psychic energy it would've had no effect on Absol, a Dark type.), which intrestingly worked only on Absol and no other Pokemon he has met since gaining it.

He was able to convince (after a lot of begging and pleading) the Disaster Pokémon that he was not a poacher of some kind but his healer and rescuer.

He also discovered the reason behind Absol's fierce protection of the cave, there was an egg in the cave, a blue egg with white aerodynamic patches. And it was cold, it was freezing in the cave and after lots of persuasion Red was able to take the Dark type and the egg with him back to New Island where there were plenty of resources available to heal and protect the egg.

One issue that rose during the trio's journey, was how to reach Newfound Island? Red could fly there and take the Egg with him but he couldn't take Absol cause of said Pokémon being a Dark type. So he had to make a raft for Absol to sit on as he levitated the raft, Egg and himself back to Newfound Island as Absol refused to part with the egg.

It was an eventful month after that, Red worked hard on his two newly awakened abilities, of which telepathy was something in which his progress was nonexistent, as all he could do now, after spending days on it, was being able to guess the most prominent emotion a Pokemon Or person was feeling.

His projection though was a whole another story. As he had an abundance of Aura, manifesting it out of his body was easy, it was the stability part that gave him trouble. His projections had an unhealthy habit of fizzling out in midst of some task and his barrier couldn't even stop Absol's weakest **Shadow Ball**.

But after a month of practice and training he could proudly say that he could project his Aura out of his body easily, if only till the distance of five meters.

He was dying to try and teleport but without someone to guide him, he didn't want to risk it, he still shuddered when he thought about only his limbs teleporting or worse.

He didn't know how and when it happened but he and Absol developed a strong bond. Maybe it was because they were alone on the island, maybe because he healed Absol or because they trained together but somehow they both ended up being each other's confidants and companions with Absol, after hearing his life story, swearing to never leave him, abandon him, ever.

' _What are you thinking Red?_ ' Red heard Absol's voice resound in his head.

"Just feeling a bit…sentimental…" Red answered sheepishly.

' _Uhh, Are you going to secrete fluid from your eyes too? I've seen a lot of humans do that when they make loud wailing noises._ ' Absol asked in his peculiar innocent but Oh so infuriatingly sarcastic tone.

"No Absol, I'm not going to make _'loud wailing noise'_ , as you so eloquently put it." Red replied exasperatedly, making air quotes when he said ' _loud wailing noise'._

' _Hn, see to it that you don't I'm not going to have a trainer that can't even control his fluids._ ' Absol retorted, completely aware of how weird his statement was and the affect it would have on his trainer, not that he was going to admit it out loud.

Red just groaned and kept his mouth shut, knowing that further answering his friend would get him nowhere but deeper in the mud.

Absol had a dry wit, with a sarcastic streak mile wide. It was certainly a new experience for Red as he hadn't met anyone with that type of behavior before as Ash and even as Red but he had only conversed with few people to begin with.

Absol watched with soft eyes, as his trainer abandoned his melancholic thoughts and that twinkle and shine in his eyes, that had convinced Absol to follow him, appeared again...That and the Promise that he would help take care of his egg, even if he found the egg, abandoned in that cave, he still considered it his offspring.

Absol's gaze travelled to the backpack on Red's back, where a White Pokemon Egg rested, eager to hatch and watch the wonders of the world on its own.

"What, we aren't going to Hoenn?" a loud shout behind him attracted Red's attention. He turned back and saw a few tourists surrounding the Captain and bombarding him with questions.

Hoenn, the region of deserts and volcanoes, a tropical region famous for its temperate climate and exotic Pokémon's found there. It was also, the starting point and after a tour around Kanto's tourist spots, the final destination of this tourist ship.

It was just yesterday noon that Red found the ship or rather, the ship found him on New Island.

It had been a miracle that the ship had landed on the island and found him and his Pokémon. The tourist ship was on its way back home to Hoenn, when they spotted New Island and came to investigate since it wasn't registered on any sea maps that they had, and found the young boy alone with the Dark type, stranded on the desolate and, to them, a dead island.

When he was asked, he told the people on board that he had been shipwrecked on the island during a storm, and his parents were killed onboard. That he washed up on the shore of the island a week ago, and was alive only due to the assistance of Absol, a Pokémon that already resided on the island, who hunted food for them, and took him to a natural water spring. That he had nowhere else to go and didn't have anyone they could contact for him to let them know that he was still alive.

After some debate and some protests from the ship's crew about letting the Disaster type abroad the ship, which were thankfully silenced after a harsh glare from the Captain, it was decided to continue on its trek home to Hoenn. So now the ship was on its way back to Hoenn where the fate of their newest passengers would be decided if they couldn't sort out anything before that.

The captain of the boat was a kind, balding middle-aged man in his late 40's, early 50's with blond hair that had the beginning of flecks of gray in it. His name was Dan Starstrome and he came from Dewford Island, and had taken a liking to the young orphan almost immediately and came to visit him every now and again to see how he was doing.

The first time he'd met the strange teenage boy (he couldn't be more than 14) and his companion they had picked up on that island, he knew that it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that something was different about him, something about him that made the age old senses tingle. He could tell that the boy wasn't lying, he truly had nowhere to go, and there was that profound sadness within his eyes that was natural and somewhat expected, after going through such trauma.

But his eyes didn't have the look of hopelessness that he had seen in many others throughout his life, the look of not knowing what to do, the ever present question of _What Now?_ His eyes were hardened and shone with inner strength, they had the look of a survivor who had undergone a tragedy, survived and come out stronger because of it.

' _What doesn't kill you…makes you stronger…'_ the Captain had not seen a better example of that saying.

As the crowd around the Captain thinned, Red walked up to him and coughed lightly to gain his attention.

"What is it now? Oh it's you Red" the captain spoke gruffly as he turned to speak to him. "How you doing my boy, enjoying the sea?" the captain inquired with a little softer voice.

"Umm, yes Captain…" at Said man's glare Red corrected himself,

"I mean Dan, I'm fine, just feeling a little sea sick at the moment but I think I'll be fine after I get accustomed to the constant sway of the ship." Red finished, trying to soothe any concern the old man may have for him, he had already done plenty for him after all.

"Hhh, happens with the best of us kiddo, you'll get used to it. You have 2 weeks to get over your seasickness." Dan assured Red with a pat on his back, making the teenager stumble causing the captain to chuckle.

After straightening himself and giving the old man a mock glare, Red asked a question as he came to a realization,

"Why 14 days? You said we'll reach Hoenn in 4 days" Red asked Dan who just scratched his beard as he replied,

"Ohh, we would have if not for the unexpected detour we are taking" the slight emphasis on _detour_ was the only indication that Dan wasn't very pleased with this.

"Detour? What Detour? And why now?" Red asked firing away questions as soon as he formed them.

"It's nothing, just a town up north of Kanto that the owner's wife is adamant about visiting" Dan replied nonchalantly. "Apparently, she heard a legend from the people in the last town and is dead set on visiting the place herself. She's even rallied the other rich ladies and forced her husband to bend to her will." Dan said the last part in a high pitched voice as if to imitate the woman behind all this.

Red resolutely ignored Dan's mumbles of "Pussies" and "no manliness whatsoever" as he tried hard not to react to the not very pleasant thoughts Absol had to share on the matter. Absol had made it abundantly clear that he was a mammal and had no business on this Rocking abomination of a transport; Yeah Absol didn't like sailing…at all.

"So where are we going?" Red asked the captain, trying to bring his attention back on the topic of discussion.

Dan's head snapped up and he replied absent mindedly while waving his hand,

"It's a small Town North of Kanto. I've been there few times in my life and I have to admit there aren't that many places that can compete to the architecture of that town. They have a friggin' Castle in the middle of a lake for Heaven's sake." Dan replied, his voice carrying uncharacteristic awe to it and a bit of incredulity at end part.

Red's eyebrows rose as he listened to the Captain almost gushing about the beauty of the place, and hearing the normally gruff and blunt Captain sing praises of this city he was getting pumped up to visit it himself. It was a plus that he could sense Absol's elation to the news, whether it was because of the beauty and exotic scenery this town promised or the assurance of fixed, unmoving Terra Firma, he couldn't say.

"So, what's the name of this city?" Red asked as he realized that in his enthusiasm to see new sights he forgot to ask for the name.

"Ahh Yes I didn't tell you its name did I, the town is, _Rota_ city of the last Queen in Kanto." Dan answered dramatically.

' _Rota huh'_ Red thought as he looked at Absol who mirrored his expression, an expression of anticipation _,_

' _This should be interesting…'_

* * *

 **Finally! I'm done with this chapter. I can't tell you guys how much effort it took me to write this as this is my first chapter written independently without anyone else's help, it feels…good. I'll try to update as fast as I can, which can be anywhere from 5-20 days, sorry guys but it's the best I can do.**

 **Now I know that it took me 20 days to do this but, I am seriously busy and as a Medical Student I don't really have much time to write anything else other than my reports(-_-")**

 **English isn't my first language so if you spot any errors kindly do tell me, I'll try and correct them.**

 **And on an totally different note,**

 **Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2017.**

 **I know I'm late for the former and it's still time for the later but I think that it's the feeling and emotions that matter more, not just empty words, so may you have a wonderful holiday season cause I don't have any, bastards, Doctors don't get holidays they say(sniff…sniff), we need holidays you idiots. At least I do.**

 **Please read and review, there are many views but only 5 reviews, so please guys tell me what you think even if it is to criticize me, at least then I'll know what you find wrong in my story.**

 **So we'll met again**

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 **WhenWindWhirls**


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